Well, this is an unwelcome first. To shut a blind in the luxury Hotel Romeo in Rome, you first negotiate some timber steps, clamber over a sunken corner bath built in behind the bedhead, then yank the knobbly plastic cord, being careful all the while to avoid skittling the miniature Aesop smellies. It is hardly the most relaxing pre-sleep ritual. If you’re lucky, the turn-down service will have got there first.

And it’s a surprise because you might expect the blinds to be automated in line with the complex lighting and temperature settings beloved of many a “design hotel”. Light switch panels on the other side of the room with pre-set patterns and no dimmers are a constant frustration – and one cited as a chief design annoyance in traveller surveys. Even the shower at the Romeo has its own set of disco lights. The deluxe room has a users’ handbook of the density you might expect to come with a washing machine.